Samantha Schwanke/Winonan
Winona State’s Concert Choir performed the All Night Strut this past Saturday night on the Performing Arts Center’s Main Stage.
A junior music major and American Choral Directors Association on campus president, Margot Friedli, described what the show was all about.
“All Night Strut is meant to be a musical performance for four people, but our director Dr. Mechell has made it for the whole choir,” Friedli said. “It’s a musical review of jazz songs from the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s. We have added a few new songs and a couple of skits, including one from George Burns and Gracie Allen and another from Abbott and Costello.”
The show was a night of corny, family-friendly fun that showed the choir’s great musical, dancing and acting talents.
This was shown right away in Act One, with songs like “Minnie the Moocher”, which was brought to life by the acting skills of the singers Gretchen Haga, Adrienne Scarlatto, Brady Beckman and Alex Buchanan. This is just one example of the audience getting to enjoy the hard work that went into this performance.
The George Burns and Gracie Allen skit was also in Act One. Friedli and fellow music major Garrett Bowling made an entertaining duet, with 30’s Jersey accents and playing off of Allen’s blond moments.
Burns and Allen used to be a very famous comedy skit in the ‘50s, which made the show relatable to audience members of all ages.
Friedli said, “I believe this audience will attract people who are the children of the World War II era because they would’ve grown up with this music.”
This was true with older audiences members singing along to the tunes in the audience.
But there were also plenty of college-aged students there, especially music majors. Friedli, too, noticed, “We hope this has opened the eyes of the students who participated and came and encourages them to participate in the music, theater and dance departments here on campus.”
Act One ended with a World War II medley that brought a musical feel to the whole performance. The songs flowed from the fun “Java Jive”, all about being in love with coffee, to lovers being torn apart by war in pieces like “The White Cliffs of Dover”, and ending with the whole choir singing in the audience in “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition”, “Comin’ in on a Wing and a Prayer”, and “I’ll be Seeing You”.
These pieces helped the audience connect with the performance and feel like they were in the time period. The choir also wore era-inspired outfits, like flapper dresses and overalls, to make the show a complete nod to the time period.
This show took a lot of preparation.
“The choir prepared for the concert during choir rehearsals, and there was a small group that met every night all semester for 3 hours at a time,” Friedli said. “ACDA has created the decorations and helped set up the stage, forum and costumes. Chartwells provided the desserts for us.”
The small group Friedli referred to was the All Night Strutters, who did most of the solos and small dance numbers during the performance. The choir itself was only involved in seven of the pieces.
Act Two had just as much variety as Act One.
The skit was Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First?” which featured Beckman and Buchanan once again. The two were a hilarious combo and practically stole the show. Beckman especially had great facial expressions throughout the performance that kept the audience laughing and engaged.
The performance ended with the famous I Miles and Duke Ellington tune “It Don’t Mean a Thing [if it Ain’t Got that Swing].” Seeing the whole choir up on stage singing this classic jazz tune was a great ending to a wonderful night of entertainment.
If you missed the All Night Strut, don’t worry. The choir does a dinner theater every other year, and the in-between years they do a madrigal dinner.
Contact Samantha at [email protected]
